Death at the Salon (Daisy Thorne Mystery #2) by Louise R Innes

I really, really enjoyed this book.

‘Death at the Salon’ follows Daisy Thorne, the owner of Ooh La La— a beloved hair salon in their village. As she is locking up the salon for the night she discovers one of her customer lying dead behind her shop, with her missing scissors on the dead woman’s back. To make matters even worse, Daisy becomes the prime suspect in the case. Daisy must find the real culprit to clear her name before it’s too late.

After hairdresser Daisy Thorne finds her missing scissors in a customer’s back, she becomes the prime suspect in a murder…

When Ooh La La regular Mel Haverstock left the hair salon that morning, no one expected it would be her final parting. But when Daisy closes shop Saturday night, she finds her client dead as the mullet cut. Homicide is back in style in the quiet village of Edgemead in Surrey, England. But who would want to harm a hair on poor Mel’s head?

Suspicions higher than a beehive pile on Daisy when it’s revealed that she and Mel had tangled back in high school, and DNA evidence seems to color her guilty. Handsome DCI Paul McGuinness gives the hairstylist new accessories—a lovely pair of silver handcuffs. To clear her name, Daisy must highlight the real backstabber, or she’ll end up shaving heads in the prison barbershop.

The author wastes no time presenting us with a murder very early on— a customer was found dead outside of the shop. I prefer it when the murder happens early on to a murder happening a couple chapters later, especially in cosy mysteries, because it almost degrades the “murder-mystery” element which is supposed to be the main plot.

Some may prefer a more in-depth introduction to the main characters, but keep in mind that this is the second book of the series. It is expected that you would have already read the first one, so an introduction to the characters really isn’t necessary. That being said, I think the author gives us more than enough about our main character before diving straight into the mystery.

Also can we appreciate the fact that our main character isn’t a coffee shop owner, or a baker, or a book store owner. That alone earns an additional point.

The mystery kept me hooked from start to finish. It was well constructed, well developed, and the motive actually made sense! I did have my own theory about who the culprit may have been, but I was wrong. In ‘ ‘ this was a good thing because the actually murderer reveal worked, and brought about an“aha!” moment.

I love the brewing romance between Daisy and the DCI Paul McGuiness. They have an almost “push-and-pull” relationship, and it is so fun to witness their banter. Slow burn romances can sometimes be frustrating to read, but we have to admit— once the couple does get together the agonising wait will be worth it.

There is a great cast of characters, and all the friendships our main character has all seem genuine. I like that we actually *see* the friendships between the characters, and not just being told that they are, in fact, friends.

I have the first book in my cart ready for check out, and will definitely be continuing on with this series. So glad to have discovered a new cosy mystery author.

4 stars.